Captain Marvel #34, Marvel Comics, September 1974
Another undervalued Captain Marvel? Are you crazy? My Undervalued #77 already featured the too cheap issue #50. This spotlight features the even more neglected Captain Marvel #34.
This has to be the most overlooked and undervalued issue in the run. This issue features Jim Starlin cover and art and it introduces the villain Nitro.
Jim Starin just pulled off an epic Thanos arc that ran through Captain Marvel #25 through #33 and you’d expect a letdown. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Captain Marvel #34 is in many ways one of the most important comic books ever published!!
Like Gavrilo Princip, the Bosnian Serb who in 1914 assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and in the process set off World War 1, Nitro is not much on his own but he’s a very significant figure in history. After detonating himself to get away from the New Warriors, Nitro ends up killing hundreds including 60 school kids. This takes place in 2006 and the event directly leads to a push for the Superhuman Registration Act which directly leads to Marvel’s epic Civil War event. It all started with Gavrilo and it all started with Nitro.
Nitro was changing the course of history long before Civil War though. In this very issue, Captain Marvel #34, Nitro exposes Captain Marvel to carcinogenic “compound 13” nerve gas. Captain Marvel survives the incident but contracts the cancer that will one day kill him.
Is there no end to Nitro’s mark on history?
The Death of Captain Marvel was a superhero death that truly mattered. The Death of Captain Marvel story was told in a new and exciting format known as the Graphic Novel. In 1984 Marvel Graphic Novel #1 told the story of Captain Marvel’s death and it also launched a series of graphic novels that officially lasted 20 issues and spurred rival DC Comics to launch their own series of graphic novels. The rest, as they say, is history.
The 40th edition of the Overstreet Price Guide shows $17/$25/$32 as the splits at the 8.0/9.0/9.2 grades.
Strengths that make this comic book a good long-term investment are:
Nitro kills Captain MarvelNitro starts Marvel’s Civil WarNitro is directly responsible for the success of graphic novelsNitro may very well be one of the most important comic book characters ever and you can get his first appearance for a 1/10,000th for the price of a Spider-Man not even to mention SupermanWalter Durajlija is an Overstreet Advisor and Shuster Award winner. He owns Big B Comics in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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PostedFriday, March 25th, 2011 at 1:27 pmin Undervalued Spotlight.Follow comments on the RSS 2.0 feed.You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.« Undervalued Spotlight #79
7 Responses to “”
Anthony Falcone says:March 25, 2011 at 2:45 pmI am confused, so Deadpool doesn’t appear in this comic? Why is it an undervalued spotlight then? I was hoping for the 3rd appearance of Deadpool.
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Marc says:March 25, 2011 at 5:22 pm>>Nitro is directly responsible for the success of graphic novels
Apparently Walt has decided to turn this feature into a comedy routine.
Walter Durajlija says:March 25, 2011 at 5:31 pmI think this is a great comic book and my write up explains why. My messing with the logic of if A = B and B = C then… was meant to be playful but I guess it had the opposite effect and may have undermined my argument (which was no joke). It obviously has with you.
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Scott VanderPloeg says:March 26, 2011 at 9:28 amIf you look at it from the perspective that The Death Of Captain Marvel was the first in Marvel’s line of graphic novels, and while Eisner created the graphic novel format Marvel made it successful.
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Charlie says:March 26, 2011 at 2:31 amYou know Walter, I would have added or taken different angle here. This is classic Jim Starlin stuff. I also value comics by content and quality… which reflects directly on the production team… and there was a time when the market did too, where major works by top talent, like Jim Starlin, was hanging on the wall and commanded a premium. It’s unfortunate that books like Dreadstar is in the dollar bins now but Jim Starlin was a celebrated artist. One of first to create story arcs that felt epic in scale and took you on a cosmic journey.
I understand you’re connecting the dots with Nitro but I think you could do this with just about any character or storyline. That’s the beauty and fun of comics… it’s a continuum, a world (or universe) in itself that has a history with cause and effect.
I’m not saying you’re wrong… perhaps this is an important book but I think the real value here is Jim Starlin.
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I was introduced to CBD by our good buddy Frank about a year ago. I continue to frequent CBD because…
1. It’s local, and because of…
2. UNDERVALUED SPOTLIGHT!!
Being local means nothing outside of Toronto… so I don’t think you realize how undervalued “UNDERVALUED SPOTLIGHT” is. I understand that generating content is a lot of work but you guys have to realize that I can get news and opinions anywhere. In fact, I recognize a lot of the sources for many of the topics covered here because I’ve read or heard about it already from other sites. But UNDERVALUED SPOTLIGHT is unique. I haven’t come across anything else like it… It’s a CBD original!
Sure there are people out there looking for investment opportunities but your blog also introduces new readers to past works and it’s an opportunity to discuss books that our generation grew up with (assuming that Scott does not put the ka-bosh on it). So the “value” is not just monetary but it becomes a confirmation of quality and thus makes it worth collecting.
All this to say that I’ve got high hopes for this particular feature… and few of your recent selects hasn’t quite lived up to the potential. I wont name names but I think we all know which selects I’m talking about.
^_^
ReplyScott VanderPloeg says:March 26, 2011 at 9:26 amIt’s interesting to read your comments about CBD Charlie as they were the thoughts I had when I came onboard. It’s one of the reasons we don’t post press releases: you can get them at every site. Yet when I look at our stats the most frequented posts are movie clips and Deadpool mentions: our unique content gets very few hits.
ReplyWalter Durajlija says:March 26, 2011 at 9:55 amA gracious reply Charlie, Thanks.
I believe we need more personal opinions on comic book news stories. News is factual (hopefully) but opinions are personal and that puts us on a level playing field with anyone in the world. If we’re good enough people will want to know our take on things. Yes we do have a mountain to climb.
I’d love to get Undervalued read by more collectors, another mountain to climb. Your kind words motivate me though!!
As far as the “few recent features” it has been interesting reading the comments on the X-Force post both delivered personally at the last comic convention I attended and comments left on the site. The reactions have inspired me to examine this issue in more detail. Look for a Market Trends report next week in this subject.
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